Distance
by KAPM
Summary: Fate and Nanoha met when they were children and now, as teenagers, are slowly developing feelings for each other. What would happen if Fate is forced to live up to her family name?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I just recently watched Hana Yori Dango again and I just started reading the Innocent series and this idea just came to mind.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

Chapter 1

* * *

16-year old Fate sighed as she deposited her bag beside her bed, flopping down unceremoniously on the mattress. Alicia, her twin sister, and herself just got back from America, with their mother, Precia. Precia took the two girls with her on a business trip so they would know how the business would work for when they take over.

Precia Testarossa, current President of the Testarossa Group of Companies, and of course, the twins' mother. She's a cold woman, who only cares about their company's growth. She has trained her twins' since they were little children and taught them everything they needed to know to take over the company. However, Fate showed disinterest in the whole business scene when they were in elementary, so Precia has been favoring Alicia ever since.

Fate sighed, burying her head in her pillows deeper. Thinking about taking over that huge company is giving her a headache. Fate turned, now lying on her back, she began to scan her room. She gave out another sigh. _Honestly, if it weren't for that company, I wouldn't have this huge room and all these nice things._

Saying Fate's room is big would be an understatement. Fate's queen-sized bed is positioned dead center in her room. To the right, there are three steps of stairs, making a small part of her room look like a stage, with a grand piano on it. On the wall behind the piano, 3 guitars are wall-mounted and a violin case is safely placed below them. A few feet from the piano, there's a door, which leads to a walk in closet that Fate shares with Alicia. On another corner, there is an L-Shaped couch that could seat about 10 people. In the center of it, there's a coffee table, with Fate's laptop on top of it. On the wall adjacent to the couch, is a large television mounted to the wall. A shelf below the television is seen with game consoles, game discs and a huge collection of movies. A bookshelf is also seen beside the television, with books of different genres. And even though all these things are in Fate's room, it remains _spacious._

A soft knock coming from the twins joined walk in closet, which also doubles as a passage to each other's rooms, interrupted the silence in Fate's room.

"Come in" Fate instantly answered, already knowing who it was.

The door opened revealing Alicia who bounced to where Fate's bed was, with a sweet smile on her face. "Hey, are you tired?"

Fate didn't answer but, looked at the clock hanging on her wall.

 _3:00._

It's still early.

Fate simply shook her head and sat up, facing her sister, "I think I'm going to Nanoha's in a while. I promised her I'd go see her when we get back." Fate smiled unconsciously when she said the brunette's name.

"I see, I see" Alicia answered, still smiling, "Do you want me to call Vice-san for you?" Alicia asked sweetly, referring to their personal driver.

"If it's okay, I'm too tired to drive right now." Fate answered, eyeing her older sister wearily. Fate already got her driver's license even though she's underage, due to the influence of her mother. "Do you need something?"

"I need to borrow your laptop" Alicia answered instantly, and if possible, her smile turned sweeter. Fate did not miss the mischievous glint in her older sister's eyes.

Fate simply stared at her older sister for a whole minute before asking uncertainly, "What happened to yours?"

"Well…" Alicia looked sheepish.

"I don't think I wanna know; just try not to break mine. Can you just call Vice-san?" Fate interrupted, shaking her head.

* * *

The bell jingled signaling a new customer has arrived in Midori-ya, a small café owned by the Takamachi family. The café doesn't seem to be too busy since there are only a few customers scattered around.

"Welcome!" Miyuki, the second child of the Takamachi family greeted the newcomer with a wide smile. "Oh, Fate-chan!" she exclaimed once she recognized the girl in front of her, and leaned in for a short hug. "Did you grow taller?"

Fate blushed at the attention, but shrugged as an answer. "I don't think so, I've only been gone for 2 weeks" She answered with an unsure chuckle.

"Did I hear Fate-chan?" Momoko, the Takamachi matriarch asked, while exiting the kitchen carrying a plate of cake and depositing it in the shelf. "My, my, you grew taller!" Momoko stepped towards the young blonde and gave her a hug.

Fate simply shrugged and returned the hug with a smile at the woman who is now a little bit shorter than her. "Hello, Momoko-san."

"Oh, it's Fate-chan!" A voice from behind them said.

"It is indeed!" Another answered.

The three women turned to see Kyouya, the oldest Takamachi child and Shiro, the Takamachi patriarch standing by the door, carrying boxes of supplies.

Fate hurried to help the two carry some of the lighter ones, "Here, let me help," She said, already going for a small box, but was stopped when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.

"Good to see you back" Kyouya said before letting the blonde go.

Shiro simply smiled and patted her on the head, "You grow taller, Fate-chan?"

"She did, didn't she?" Kyouya agreed with a smile, while Miyuki nodded in the background.

"Mou…" Fate said with a blush. This is why she likes the Takamachi family; they're so warm and welcoming. "I was gone for 2 weeks…"

The Takamachis shared a laugh, while Fate pouted.

"Must have hit some kind of growth spurt then, huh, kiddo?" Shiro teased.

"Where is everybody?" A voice interrupted the small reunion going on.

Fate swiftly turned around and faced the newcomer with a huge smile on her face, "Nanoha," she said sweetly, "I'm back,"

Nanoha's eyes widened before she ran to the blonde and tackled her in a hug, "Welcome back, Fate-chan."

A throat cleared from beside them when their hug lasted a second too long to be considered friendly. The two broke apart, but Nanoha simply hooked her arms around Fate's, while Fate blushed at being caught up in the moment at a public place.

"I think I could let you go now, Nanoha, the place isn't that busy after all," Shiro said, while hauling a box and going to the kitchen, followed quickly by Kyouya.

"Have fun, you two." Momoko said, "Take care of Nanoha for me, okay, Fate-chan?"

"Always," Fate answered immediately.

Momoko smiled before turning around to go back to the counter.

"Thanks guys, we'll just be at home," Nanoha said, already dragging the blonde outside.

* * *

"It was nice of them to let you go early," Fate said as the two of them walked at a nearby park, hand in hand.

"Yeah, I've been working hard all summer because I get so bored without you here," Nanoha said, briefly squeezing Fate's hand, "I even finished all my summer homework already,"

"What about Suzuka and Arisa?" Fate mused.

"Well, I spent some days with them, but…" Nanoha murmured something inaudible, breaking her hold on Fate's hand and walking ahead of the blonde.

Fate looked at Nanoha confusedly for a second before catching up with her and taking the brunette's hand again to stop her, "Nanoha?" Fate simply smiled when she saw the pout on the brunette's face.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha said when Fate wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind her.

"I missed you, Nanoha," Fate whispered, "There wasn't a moment when I wasn't thinking of you."

Nanoha remained quiet, simply enjoying the moment.

* * *

"Where is Fate?" The question sounded menacing in the quiet air of the dining room in the Testarossa household.

Alicia wiped her mouth with a napkin before answering, "She went to visit Nanoha, okaa-san."

Precia's hand stopped midway to her mouth as she looked at Alicia, "The Takamachi girl again? Your sister is so fond of her, I do wonder why." Then she resumed eating.

Alicia stared at her mother, practically hearing the gears in her head turning. _She's planning something._

* * *

Nanoha and Fate went to Nanoha's room after an eventful dinner with the Takamachis. Fate stretched and then flopped down on Nanoha's bed.

"Do you want me to get the futon, Fate-chan?" Nanoha asked dutifully, sitting down beside Fate and putting her hand on Fate's back.

"We can still share your bed, right?" Fate answered, looking at Nanoha with a smile, "Like old times"

"I guess so," Nanoha nodded and laid down, turning so she can face the blonde who has both of her eyes closed, "So, how was America? You never told me."

"Boring," Fate answered instantly, "It was full of stuck-up businessmen and uneventful meetings."

"You never went out with Alicia-chan?"

"Okaa-san kept us busy" When Nanoha remained quiet, Fate opened an eye to look at Nanoha, "Well, how was Japan without me?"

"Boring," Nanoha echoed Fate's earlier sentiment, "It's different without my best friend around."

"Well, let's make sure to spend the rest of summer together, then," Fate answered, closing her eyes again and drifting off to sleep.

Nanoha watched Fate as she drifted off to sleep. She closed her eyes after a minute, miming the blonde's breathing and following her into sleep.

* * *

Fate stirred from her sleep from a buzzing sound beside her. She reached down and found her phone as the source of the incessant vibrating. Cracking an eye open, she read the caller to be her sister.

"'Ello?" Fate answered sleepily.

" _Fate, you need to come home right away. I've already sent Vice-san to get you,"_ Alicia said urgently.

The tone of her sister's voice immediately woke Fate up, sitting up; she asked "What? What happened?"

" _Okaa-san just announced a meeting of some sort, and she wants both of us to be there."_

Fate rubbed her eyes with a sigh, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks, onee-chan."

Nanoha, who woke up from the blonde's phone conversation, watched as Fate sighed once again as she shut her phone off.

"Fate-chan?"

Fate looked at Nanoha and lied down beside the brunette once again. "G'morning, Nanoha," Fate greeted as she wrapped her arms around the brunette.

"Mmm, good morning," Nanoha responded, enjoying the warmth that the blonde is offering.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go soon, okaa-san summoned us," Fate said grimly.

"It's okay, just be sure to spend more time with me after, okay?" Nanoha said with a smile.

* * *

"Where is she?" Alicia asked herself anxiously, pacing her twin sister's bedroom. It's already been 20 minutes since their phone conversation and the younger blonde still hasn't shown up.

The door opened, revealing Fate who quickly ran to their closet to change into appropriate clothing.

"Finally! What took you so long?!" Alicia crossed her arms as she followed her sister inside the closet.

Fate simply took a look at what her big sister is wearing; a formal white business suit. She immediately raided her closet for the same clothes, except it's in color black.

"I'm sorry, it took a long time to convince Momoko-san that I didn't need breakfast," Fate finally answered, hurrying to get out of her current clothes.

Alicia sighed and looked at Fate worriedly, "Fate, I think mom's planning something against the Takamachis, or at least Nanoha,"

"What?" Fate stopped buttoning her shirt, looking at her sister with a frown.

"Last night, at dinner, she asked where you were," Alicia started, "And she didn't seem to like it when she found out you were with Nanoha,"

"Oh…" Fate said, looking down.

Alicia chuckled nervously, "But, I think I'm just reading too much into things again, I'll meet you downstairs, okay?" and she hurried out of the room.

"Could it be…?" Fate asked herself quietly, looking in the mirror and staring at a triangular pendant hanging from her neck, "She wouldn't hurt my best friend, right?"

The pendant was a gift from Nanoha the day before they started middle school.

" _So you won't forget me even if we don't go to the same school!"_

" _Like I could ever forget you,"_

The very next day, Fate waited outside Nanoha's school to give her a necklace with a ruby red gem.

* * *

Nanoha sighed as she lied on her bed, willing her phone to light up. Her parents left her at home saying she should relax for the day and just enjoy. But how could she relax when Fate is probably stressing over something right now? Every single time Precia calls for Fate and Alicia, Fate would always, always look downright tired and stressed.

She tried to ask Fate about it once and she answered _"Nothing, just business stuff"._

And when she asked Alicia about it, _"Okaa-san gave Fate a lot of work,"_

Alicia explained that even though Fate doesn't really want to work as the president of the company, Fate is quite talented at planning and always seem to be a step ahead of their competitors, so Precia makes Fate go through some business plans before she makes her next move.

"And she's just 16… It's not fair… She should be having fun…" Nanoha murmured to herself, staring forlornly at her cellphone.

Nanoha has met Precia Testarossa a handful of times, and she tried to like her, she really did, but the woman is just too cold and serious for her.

Her phone chimed and Nanoha hurried to grab it, almost dropping the device on the floor. Nanoha pouted once she's seen it was a text from a blonde, but a different blonde.

 **From: Arisa-chan**

 **Hey, wanna hang out?**

Nanoha thought of a response carefully.

 **To: Arisa-chan**

 **If you guys are willing to hang out at mine, then sure**

Nanoha was sure Suzuka would be with Arisa so she knows to include her in the text. Not a minute later, her phone chimed again with Arisa's acceptance of the invitation.

* * *

"I can't believe she called us here just to announce a party," Alicia grumbled as they waited for the elevator to hit the ground floor.

"Really now?" Fate asked as she browsed her phone for messages, smiling when she got to a message from Nanoha.

"Okay, maybe, I can" Alicia conceded, following Fate through the parking lot.

"Wanna go hang at Nanoha's? Arisa and Suzuka are there, plus they made a cake" Fate asked as she started the car.

Alicia lit up and nodded her head vigorously, "Let's go, let's go!"

Fate chuckled at her sister's childishness as they pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

 **A/N: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Be sure to tell me with the button below! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

* * *

Chapter 2

A tense silence hung in the air at the Testarossa family's dining room. Precia is seated at the head of the table while the twins sat either side of her, with Alicia on the right and Fate on the left. A maid was on standby by the kitchen door, in case any one of them asked for something.

Fate inhaled as she gathered the courage to ask her mother a question, "Okaa-san?" She finally called, her voice wavering at the end of her sentence.

"Yes?" Precia didn't bother looking up as she continued to cut the steak on her plate.

"Will you let me attend Nanoha's school?" Fate didn't dare look up as she asked the question, afraid to know what kind of reaction that elicited from her mother. Alicia looked up at her sister, then turned her gaze to their mother, who stopped eating as she pondered the request.

Precia finally looked up and raised an eyebrow at her youngest daughter. "Are you serious?"

As Fate opened her mouth to respond, Alicia beat her to it, "We just thought it'd be fun to go to school with our friends," she said hurriedly, gripping her utensils tightly. Both Fate and her know, somehow, that her mother has a soft spot for her, so if she asks along with Fate, things might go better.

Precia thought about it for a moment and smiled a little too sweetly at her daughters, "I'll tell you what, if" She stressed the last word, "and only if the both of you get a perfect score on their school's entrance exam, I would let you attend that school,"

Alicia and Fate locked eyes, before nodding at each other and resumed eating their meals.

"You'll be taking it tomorrow, though, I know their headmaster,"

* * *

"So, you'll be taking the entrance exams tomorrow?" Nanoha asked happily as she heard of her friends' attempt to transfer schools. Fate immediately called her after their family dinner to tell Nanoha of the news.

" _Yeah, mom pulled a few strings. Onee-chan is actually in her room, studying right now."_ Fate answered.

"What about you? Shouldn't you be studying, too?" Nanoha teased, playing with a loose thread on her pillow case.

" _Well…"_ Fate started, her voice holding the same teasing tone, _"I've been told I'm pretty smart."_

"As true as that is, you can never be too prepared, you know?" Nanoha answered with a laugh, "So, I'm gonna let you go now." She didn't want to but she needed to make sure her friend would have enough time to study and rest properly.

Fate sighed from the other end, _"Fine"_ Nanoha could practically hear the pout in Fate's voice.

"Be sure to come visit me right after the test, okay?" Nanoha said as a compromise.

" _Of course. G'night, Nanoha."_

"Good night, Fate-chan." Nanoha responded with a dreamy sigh, and then the line clicked.

Nanoha hummed to herself as she flopped on the bed, thinking of her blonde haired best friend. She's pretty sure that she's crushing on her best friend. The emotions Fate makes her feel is very different than when she's with Arisa or Suzuka, and even with Alicia, and she's an exact replica of Fate.

Nanoha sighed, thinking of the consequences of confessing to Fate. _Will you take a chance with me if I told you, Fate-chan?_

* * *

Fate knocked on her sister's bedroom door, knowing that the older blonde is still awake. Probably still reading.

"Come in"

As Fate entered the room, she smiled at her sister who was skimming a book before sitting down beside her on her bed. Alicia's room is pretty much the same layout as Fate's but has far less items in it. With her bed, an L-shaped couch, a coffee table and the same TV in Fate's room on one side and two tall bookshelves and a computer desk on the other side.

"What's up?" Alicia asked, closing the book she was reading to look at her younger sister.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into the whole transferring schools thing," Fate said, burrowing in the mountain of pillows and stuffed toys her sister has.

"It's okay, I don't think I can handle the stress of you being in another school," Alicia answered with a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fate asked with a pout.

"You know I can't leave you for one second without you causing trouble or something," Alicia answered, grinning mischievously.

Fate frowned, knowing what Alicia was referring to. Both of them have a few admirers at their school; mainly because of their intelligence. And since Fate is more athletic than Alicia by a mile, she gained a fan club. And of course, since she is the nicer and more approachable of the two, her fans actively seek her out which annoys Alicia to no end.

They may be twins but, they have completely different personalities. Both of them are geniuses by nature, but Alicia's the one who enjoys it best, reading almost every free time she has, whereas Fate likes to move around and doesn't really enjoy sitting in one place for too long. Fate has a long patience, whereas Alicia can be set off by the simplest remarks. Alicia is outgoing and friendly, interacting with people comes naturally to her, whilst Fate is shy and quiet that she would often be called as 'Alicia's shadow' in their school (until she joined the track team, of course).

" _Fate-sama! Please go out with me!" A boy said, blocking Fate's way._

" _Umm… I'm sorry, I can't?" Fate answered unsurely, her statement coming out as a question. She slowly sidestepped the boy, but, he caught her wrist._

" _Please, I'm sure you'll have fun with me," He insisted._

 _Fate winced at the tightening hold, but before she could do anything else, Alicia luckily came to her rescue._

" _Sorry, buddy, she's not interested," Alicia said , dragging Fate with her._

 _Fate simply smiled apologetically at the boy and let Alicia drag her._

"But, really, it's no problem. It's not like we have real friends at that school. It'll be more fun with Nanoha and everyone else." Alicia said after a moment of silence, effectively breaking Fate out of her memories.

"What about Ginga, though?" Fate asked, knowing of her sister's fondness to their purple-haired junior.

Alicia sighed and leaned back before smiling, "I have an open invite to her house anytime, she wants me to meet her sister who's about 3 years younger than her,"

"Maybe she can transfer next year when she goes to high school" Fate suggested.

"Maybe," was Alicia's simple response.

* * *

Precia was sitting in her office table the next day, reading the profile of the Takamachi family, more specifically, Nanoha.

"So, they met 7 years ago, huh," Precia murmured, looking at a photograph of Nanoha at age 9.

 _Knock. Knock._

"Enter,"

Precia's assistant, Linith, carefully opened the door, "Precia-sama, Fate-ojou-sama has arrived," She announced.

"Send her in," Precia answered curtly. Once the door was closed, she turned to look at Nanoha's photograph again, "Let's see how much of a friend you are, Takamachi Nanoha."

* * *

"Good morning, okaa-san," Fate greeted as she sat down in front of Precia.

"How was the exam?" Precia asked, grabbing a folder and taking out some photographs out of it.

Fate blinked at the question, her mother normally didn't care about those kinds of things, "It was okay," she answered softly after a while.

Precia didn't respond but simply sifted through the photographs in her hand, before stopping at a particular one. She didn't say a word as she slid the photograph to Fate.

Fate looked at the picture oddly, before returning her confused gaze back to her mother. "What…?" the word hung in the silence of the office. It was a picture of her and Nanoha, hugging intimately, their foreheads touching, and both of them were grinning widely. Fate remembered the day to be when they entered a karaoke contest and they won.

"What is this Takamachi Nanoha to you?" Precia asked, her voice taking on a harsh tone.

"She's my best friend." Fate answered quickly.

"But you wish to be more?" Precia prodded, narrowing her eyes at her youngest daughter.

Fate's jaw dropped at the implication, her face paling. She remained silent as she wracked her brain for a proper response.

"Tell me, are you this _intimate_ with your other friends?" Precia asked when Fate's silence took too long, practically spatting out the last word. Precia slid another photograph; this one showing Fate and Nanoha holding hands, their fingers _linked together._

"I… I… I…" Fate stuttered out, not knowing how to respond. She thought of her interactions with Arisa and Suzuka, with Ginga and even Alicia.

"Fate, do you like girls?" Precia asked again when Fate failed to answer the previous question properly, placing another photograph in front of Fate, this one with Nanoha kissing Fate's cheek while Fate was smiling widely with a blush on her face.

Fate gaze lowered, her heartbeat picked up at the question. She hasn't really thought about it that much. All she knows is that Nanoha is different. Nanoha is special.

"I've already gotten what I need, you may go," Precia said, analyzing her daughter's reaction carefully. _You just made things easier for me, Fate._

Fate nodded dumbly, and walked out of the office without another word.

* * *

 **From: Fate-chan**

 **Hey, I'm home. I know I promised we'd hang out after the exam but I'm tired. I'm just going to take a nap, okay? I'll talk to you later, Nanoha.**

Nanoha frowned at the message, wondering what happened with Fate's meeting with her mother. Before the meeting, they were talking on the phone, and Fate was even joking around. What did her mother say that caused such a drastic change in the blonde's mood? Nanoha shook her head and sighed, there was nothing she could really do but let Fate be for a while.

 **To: Fate-chan**

 **I'll be here when you're ready, Fate-chan.**

* * *

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

Alicia frowned at the lack of response. She's sure that Fate's already back from her meeting with their mother. Her biggest clue was the sound of Flight of the Bumblebee coming from Fate's room. She knows that Fate only plays that piece whenever she's frustrated. She simply decided to barge in when she realized that the piano-playing won't stop anytime soon.

"Fate," Alicia greeted cautiously, moving to stand beside the piano.

Fate glanced a bit in her general direction before her gaze returned to the piano keys in front of her, her hands and fingers continue to flow smoothly over the keys.

Alicia's frown deepened as she watched Fate repeat the song, "Did something happen? Nanoha asked me to check up on you."

Fate faltered, her playing slowing down a second at the mention of the brunette, before her expression hardened once more and she began to play the song with more force than necessary.

"Fate-" Alicia began but was cut off when Fate stopped playing and turned to her with a defeated expression on her face.

"Onee-chan," Fate started slowly, her tone soft, "I'm not ready…" was all she could get out, not sure how to voice out what she wants to say.

Alicia doesn't really know what Fate meant but she went to hug her younger sister since she doesn't know what else to offer other than comfort. She squeezed Fate a bit when the younger blonde let out a sigh of resignation, knowing that her sister is simply putting on an act of being strong, when she knows that all Fate wants to do is curl up and cry.

On the other hand, Fate simply leaned into her sister. She was oblivious of her own feelings before her mother brought it to light. And now, all she can think about is that she's not ready to face her own feelings. She's not ready for the truth.

* * *

"Gil Graham, I'm so glad you could meet me on such short notice!" Precia greeted the old man enthusiastically.

"Of course, I couldn't miss catching up on an old friend," Gil responded, sipping on his tea. Ever since Precia was left to take care of the business, she's changed, and Gil can't say it's for the better.

Gil Graham is a retired general from the military that used up most of his savings to establish a hotel which became so successful that he now has a chain of 5-star hotels all over Japan. He knows Precia because of a young military friend. This friend and Precia had a falling out a few years back and Precia changed since then. And not for the better.

"So, I have a proposition for you," Precia said, looking seriously at Gil.

* * *

The next day, Nanoha was waiting for Fate at their favorite park. Earlier that morning, she got a message from Fate asking to meet up. And now, she's sitting in the swings, slowly swaying back and forth, thinking if Fate was ready to talk or she simply wants to hang out. She was so lost in her thoughts that Fate managed to sneak upon her and surprise her.

"Boo," Fate put her hands quickly on Nanoha's shoulders.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha stood up and turned to face Fate with a pout on her lips.

Fate was silently laughing to herself and just laughed harder at the expression on Nanoha's face.

"Mou, Fate-chan's a meanie," Nanoha crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

Fate simply smiled, which took Nanoha's breath away, and stepped closer to Nanoha before pulling her in for a hug.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha asked softly, hugging Fate back, inhaling the unique scent that is Fate.

"I love you, Nanoha," Fate declared, tightening her hold on the brunette. After a lot of contemplating and looking back at all her interactions with Nanoha and her other friends, she finally realized that she does like Nanoha as more than a friend. She's not ready to think of relationships yet, but for now, saying those three simple words is enough.

Nanoha gasped, and her hold on the blonde loosened a bit. She's heard it from Fate a thousand times before but, somehow, this time, it feels a little different. She pulled away from Fate a little bit, but not enough to let go of her. She looked deeply in the blonde's eyes and saw the sincerity in them.

"I love you, too, Fate-chan," Nanoha finally replied with a bright smile, reserved only for Fate.

Fate grinned at the response and finally let go of Nanoha, and taking hold of her hand, "Wanna go see a movie?"

"Mmn!"

Nanoha may not have figured out what happened with the meeting yesterday but she's just glad that everything seems fine with her and Fate.

* * *

Precia rolled up the windows from her side in the car, she asked her driver to stop once she saw Fate with Nanoha on a local park. She clicked her tongue when she saw Fate give Nanoha a hug.

"Linith?" Precia called for her assistant who's sitting on the passenger seat.

"Yes?" Linith answered, watching as the two best friends walk down the street. She watched the bright smile on Fate's face, for the first time seeing the young girl truly happy. She has grown a soft spot for the Testarossa twins in her time of working with Precia, and would often talk to the both of them when she can.

"Please keep an eye on Fate's interactions with that girl," It may have been said as a request but the tone of Precia's voice had an underlying hint of malice on it.

"Yes, ma'am," Linith answered automatically, afraid of going against her boss.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, guys! I really appreciate it. Not much NanoFate this chapter. Soon, though. So, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Something? Of course, criticisms are always appreciated. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

* * *

Chapter 3

Cheers were heard all over Midori-ya as a small group of friends gathered in one booth. Alicia was seated at the head of the table with Suzuka and Arisa on her right and Nanoha and Fate on the left. They were short one person, because Yuuno Scrya, their only guy friend, was sponsored to attend an archaeology conference in London.

"Congratulations, you two! We knew you could do it!" Arisa exclaimed, giving the twins a thumbs up. Alicia gave a peace sign while Fate just sat quietly, blushing at all the attention.

"We're just that awesome!" Alicia said sagely, smiling at the group.

"Nanoha, help me with the surprise," Momoko called from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Nanoha answered, standing up and running towards the kitchen.

"Surprise?" Alicia and Fate asked at the same time, both of them looked at Suzuka and Arisa, who had wide smiles on their faces, before their gaze turned to the kitchen door, where Nanoha and Momoko were walking out of.

"Ta-da!" Nanoha exclaimed, carrying a rather large cake, with the word, 'Congratulations!' written on it, "When I told okaa-san that you were trying to go to our school, she was so sure you guys would get accepted, so she insisted on making you guys a cake," She said while putting said pastry down on the middle of the table.

"Thank you, Momoko-san," Fate said gratefully, as Momoko passed out plates to the group.

"It's no problem since the both of you have been taking care of Nanoha since you've met her," Momoko answered, smiling at the twins, "Just call when you need anything else, okay?" She said to the group before going back to the counter.

"More like Nanoha's been taking care of us," Alicia muttered once Momoko was out of earshot.

"That's because the two of you are so spoiled, you can barely do anything by yourselves!" Arisa exclaimed, grabbing a huge piece of cake.

"Arisa-chan!" Suzuka scolded, slapping Arisa's arm lightly. "Like you're one to talk,"

"What?" Arisa asked, confused by Suzuka's outburst.

Both Arisa and Suzuka also came from wealthy families, both families have a long history in the corporate world like the Testarossa family, but neither exceeding Precia's empire.

"They're simply hopeless with household chores; however, both of them excel in other things like academics and sports," Nanoha explained calmly as she took her seat beside Fate, taking the plate in front of Fate.

"Your mom's kind of right, though, you know?" Alicia suddenly said, gaining the attention of the whole table, "I can't even count the number of times Nanoha went to visit and cooked for us, plus, all those times she cleaned up Fate's room."

"Onee-chan!" Fate exclaimed at the last revelation, slapping a hand over a grinning Alicia's mouth.

Both Arisa and Suzuka turned to Nanoha, silently asking if she actually does that when she's over the twin's house.

"It's not like there's much to clean, Fate-chan's room is always clean and tidy since she's so organized," Nanoha said, shrugging the revelation off, "It's just whenever I'm in Fate's room, I feel the need to keep it that way, so every time something's misplaced, I tend to go ahead and clean it up for her," She explained, slicing a piece of cake perfectly and putting it on the plate and settled it in between her and Fate so, they could share. Fate handed her a fork before using her own to take a bite of the cake.

They started sharing food like that a few weeks into their friendship when Nanoha found out that Fate has a sweet tooth. Even though Nanoha loves to bake and is practically heir to a café, she doesn't really have that much of a sweet tooth, so she figured that sharing with Fate is the best way to enjoy them. At first, all their friends and even Nanoha's family were a little weirded out with this development, but it looks so natural to the two girls that they simply let them be. And now, no one even bats an eye whenever they do this, or even when Nanoha would feed Fate something.

"Why?" Suzuka asked, curious about her friend's reasoning.

"You've been to Fate-chan's room; it's like a 5-star hotel that you simply don't want to mess up!" Nanoha answered.

Arisa and Suzuka nodded at this, thinking of the few times the two of them have been to the shy blonde's room. They usually just hang out at Midori-ya or at Nanoha's whenever they get together.

"What about Alicia's room?" Arisa inquired further, going for another slice.

"I don't go there much, so it's not like I had the chance" Nanoha replied, seriously thinking about it, "Plus, I think Alicia-chan spends more time in Fate-chan's room than her own,"

"That is true, Fate just owns all these awesome things I want to play with," Alicia admitted, scarfing down her cake. She suddenly lit up and said excitedly, "You guys can come over after this and we can play in Fate's room!" She suggested to the group.

Arisa cheered and Suzuka nodded her consent. Nanoha laughed at Alicia's idea while Fate simply continued to eat, knowing she can't do anything to change her sister's mind anymore.

* * *

The next day, Nanoha was at the local market, waiting for Miyuki to come out of a small store that she wanted to check out. She was looking around when she noticed a brunette sneaking behind a kiosk. Curious, she followed the brunette and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Kya!" The brunette shrieked, surprise by her appearance, "Mou, don't sneak up on people like that." She said, clutching the front of her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Nanoha asked, looking at the shorter brunette, she surmised, in interest.

"Master Hayate!" A voice shouted from the distance, and the short brunette tensed then tugged Nanoha so, she's crouching down with her.

"Sssshhh! I'm hiding from her," The girl Nanoha now knows to be Hayate whispered. When the calling stopped, Hayate relaxed and offered her hand to Nanoha, "Yagami Hayate," she introduced herself with a warm smile.

Nanoha grabbed the offered hand and smiled, "Takamachi Nanoha," she responded.

"Hey, would you like to hang out? I'm kind of new here," Hayate suggested after their greetings.

"I would love to, but I have to get back to work," Nanoha said regretfully when she saw Miyuki coming out of the shop, "Maybe next time," she compromised when Hayate's face fell.

"You work?"

"Mmn! My family owns a café downtown; Midori-ya," Nanoha said proudly already stepping away, "You should visit when you can,"

"Nanoha!" Miyuki called.

"Well, I have to go, see you around!" Nanoha waved and ran towards her older sister.

"Midori-ya, huh?" Hayate mused, slowly standing up.

"Ah, there she is!" A voice said from behind Hayate.

Hayate stiffened and turned around with a nervous smile.

"Master, please refrain from running around alone,"

* * *

Fate was walking down the street, pondering what she should do about her conversation with her mother and how she should tell it to Nanoha. Should she even tell it to Nanoha? More importantly, could she?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that someone was running straight towards her and ended up bumping into the girl. The force of the impact was so strong that Fate fell down and managed to pull the brunette with her. The brunette ended up landing on top of Fate.

"I'm sorry," The brunette said already standing up, she offered a hand to Fate with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright, I wasn't looking where I was going," Fate answered, taking the offered hand. Once she stood up, she dusted her hands and examined the brunette for any injuries, "Are you hurt?"

"No," The brunette laughed at the question, "You took the brunt of that fall, if anything I should be asking you that,"

"I'm fine," Fate answered with a lopsided smile. She was about to ask where the brunette was headed when a voice shouted from behind them.

"Hayate! Stop running!"

The brunette girl stiffened and gave Fate another apologetic smile, "I'll see you whenever, okay? I have to go." She barely finished her sentence before she was taking off again.

Fate watched the girl run away before turning to face the two people running after her. The first one is a short redhead who simply shot past Fate with an agitated expression to catch the mysterious brunette. And the next one is a pink-haired woman, who appears to be in her mid-20's. This one, however, stopped in front of Fate. She had a very serious expression and is a little bit taller than herself, Fate noted.

"Testarossa?" The woman asked, looking Fate up and down.

"Um, hi?" Fate greeted, eyeing the tall woman curiously. She seems familiar but Fate can't pinpoint where and when she met the woman.

"You don't remember me, huh?" The woman asked to herself with a smirk, "Anyway, did she say where she was going? The brunette you bumped into?"

"No…"

"All right. I apologize for the trouble my master has caused, we'll catch up later." The woman said, before running after the two.

Fate watched as the pink-haired woman run past her to the same direction the previous two went. "Weird…"

* * *

Fate entered Midori-ya with a smile, already on her way up the counter.

"Ah! Welcome, Fate-chan," Miyuki greeted from the counter, smiling widely at the blonde.

"Good morning, Miyuki-san," Fate greeted with a polite smile, stopping in front of the counter.

"Nanoha's just organizing some stuff in the kitchen, I'll go get her for you," Miyuki said with a smile, already turning around to get her younger sister.

"Ah! No need," Fate exclaimed, a little flustered at the older girl's hospitality. Fate's practically family to the Takamachis now but she won't abuse their kindness, "I'll just wait for her over there" Fate pointed at a booth in the corner of the café.

"Loosen up a bit, Fate-chan," Miyuki said with a knowing laugh, "I'll bring you a drink in a while, okay? The usual?"

"Please," Fate answered politely before heading towards the table she pointed to.

"Coming right up,"

As Fate sat down, she can't help but think of the weird encounter she had earlier. She frowned as she thought of the pink-haired woman; somehow she knows that she's well-acquainted with that woman before. As she was lost in her thoughts, her drink was placed in front of her with a clink, startling her a little bit.

"Ah, thank you," Fate said politely, looking up at her waitress, a smile forming on her face once she saw that it was Nanoha.

The copper-haired girl sat down opposite Fate, "Onee-chan told me you were here. You seem deep in thought?" Nanoha inquired, looking deep in Fate's eyes.

Fate hummed, her thoughts going back to the pink haired woman. Nanoha simply watched Fate get lost in her thoughts, knowing that Fate is simply taking her time gathering what she wants to say.

The bell chimed as the door opened as two new customers came inside the cafe, but neither occupants of the table seem to care, and they didn't seem to hear Miyuki welcome the newcomers either. Nanoha simply took Fate's drink and took a sip before replacing it in front of the blonde, still waiting for the blonde to come out of her thoughts.

"Signum!" Fate suddenly exclaimed from her seat. Nanoha jumped in her seat at the sudden outburst and looked at Fate like she had grown another head.

"Yes, Testarossa?" A cool voice said near their table.

Fate's head whipped at the voice while Nanoha simply examined the two newcomers curiously. One was a blonde with kind green eyes, who was smiling at both her and Fate, while the pink-haired woman, who, Nanoha deducted, was quite a serious person, was looking at Fate with an eyebrow raised.

"Ah, Signum," Fate pointed at Signum with wide eyes, thinking that her exclamation of the pink-haired woman somehow summoned her in front of Fate.

"I was hurt when you didn't seem to recognize me earlier," Signum smirked at Fate.

"I'm sorry…"

But, before Signum could answer or retaliate in any way, the blonde intervened and offered a hand to Fate, "Hi, Shamal Needes, her wife," She declared with a friendly smile.

"Fate Testarossa…" Fate shook her hand with a perplexed expression, before Shamal turned to offer her hand to Nanoha.

"Takamachi Nanoha," Nanoha introduced.

"Pleased to meet you," Both Fate and Nanoha said at the same time, "Feel free to join us," Nanoha offered graciously, wanting to know more about these new people, "I'll just grab you menus," she said, standing up to get said items. Once she delivered the menus, she excused herself to check something out in the kitchen.

"Well, if one of the Testarossa Heiress' is here, I'm sure it's a great place," Shamal said to Signum as she settled on the chair beside Nanoha's.

"I guess so…" Signum responded, looking at the menu that Nanoha just brought over, "Do you come here often, Testarossa?"

"Yeah, Nanoha's family owns the place" Fate answered with a smile, proud of, what she comes to know, her second family.

"I see…" Signum answered simply, examining an item on the menu.

"What would you recommend, then, Testarossa-chan?" Shamal asked, discarding her menu on the table and peering at Fate with interest.

Fate sweat dropped at the name, "Um… Their clubhouse sandwich is amazing, and so are the cinnamon rolls… For the drinks, anything is good, really…" She answered shyly, "And Fate's fine, It might get confusing if you call me that with my twin around…"

"But Signum does?" Shamal inquired, her gaze turning to her wife, who was now looking around the café.

"Signum's stubborn," Was Fate's simple response.

"Are you guys ready to order?" Nanoha popped up beside their table, holding a notepad in her right hand and a pencil on the left.

"Yes, please!" Shamal answered, turning to face Nanoha.

* * *

"So, you're checking the place out for your master?" Nanoha inquired curiously, taking her seat beside Shamal again.

"Yes, it's a precautionary measure," Shamal replied, taking a bite of her cinnamon roll, "Mmm! This is delicious!" She said, taking another quick bite of the treat, quickly forgetting the conversation.

Signum tenderly smiled at Shamal's antics before turning her gaze to Nanoha and Fate, "My master has been sick as a child, so, her grandfather makes sure that she is protected all of the time," She explained, "She grew up to be quite a troublemaker, though," Signum sighed, thinking of Hayate's antics.

"Is it that girl I bumped into earlier?" Fate asked, once again, thinking of the weird encounter.

"Ah, yes…"

"Where is the little redhead now, though?"

Shamal burst out laughing at Fate's question while Signum merely smirked. Nanoha looked at the three of them confusedly, wondering what was going on.

"What?"

"Vita would definitely kill you if she heard you say that," Shamal managed to get out in between giggles.

"Anyways, the redhead, Vita, and my master, Hayate, along with her other guardian and our comrade, Reinforce is on their way here," Signum answered, because Shamal was still trying to regain her breath from her laughing fit, "We just went ahead to check if this café is in a safe neighborhood."

Nanoha looked up, thinking of the name of their master, "Hayate…" All three turned to look at her, "Could you mean Yagami Hayate?" She asked, recalling her encounter this morning with the mischievous brunette.

Shamal stopped to look at Nanoha, "You know our master?" She asked, now looking at Nanoha skeptically.

Nanoha laughed nervously, "Nyahaha… I kind of met her earlier when she was hiding from you guys?"

"Of course," Signum said, as if she figured something out, "That's why she insisted on coming here,"

Before anymore could be said, Alicia barged into the café, followed by two bodyguards. She looked around the café before her gaze settled on Nanoha first then to Fate, then to the two adults accompanying them. She walked to the table and bowed to the two adults, "Alicia Testarossa, her older sister," she pointed at Fate.

"It's a pleasure," Shamal responded for both her and Signum, "Shamal and Signum Needes," She pointed to herself then to Signum as she said their names.

Alicia then smiled at Nanoha before turning her attention to Fate, "We have to go, mom just called and she wants us to meet some person," she explained before bowing in front of the strangers again and walking out of the café. One of the bodyguards left whilst the other stayed to wait for Fate.

Fate sighed before standing up, she looked at Signum first, "It was nice to see you again," then Shamal, who smiled at her, "It was nice to meet you," Then she turned to Nanoha who stood up as well.

Nanoha looked up at Fate with a smile, "Call me later, okay?" she requested, already leaning in for a hug.

"I promise," Fate gave Nanoha a squeeze before following her bodyguard out of the café.

Signum watched the interaction, intrigued, "Have you been friends long?" She stirred her drink with the straw before taking a sip.

"Yeah, we met when we were 9," Nanoha answered with a smile, thinking of their fated meeting.

Just then, the door opened again and before either Nanoha or Miyuki could welcome them, a short brunette ran in front of Nanoha.

"Nanoha-chan!" Hayate greeted with a grin. She seemed excited to see Nanoha so, the slightly taller brunette could only smile.

Nanoha looked to the door where two other people were coming in at a much slower pace than Hayate's. She assumed the smaller one was Vita, because of the fiery-red hair. And the taller one must be Reinforce.

* * *

A few hours later, only Precia and Gil were left in the woman's office, both of them taking a sip on their coffee mugs. Gil Graham just met the twins and is now seriously considering Precia's proposal. Precia refuses to speak because she wants the retired general to open up the topic.

"So…" Gil started, finally managing to gather his thoughts, "Alicia is a little… brash?" He said with a teasing smirk, thinking of how the older twin is always in the defensive and would always answer first before Fate, "She is really smart, though, I'll give you that," He added.

"Of course, she is my daughter after all," Precia boasted, thinking of how both her daughters, especially Alicia, would always bring home perfect score exams.

"About Fate, though…" Gil started, their conversation now taking on a more serious tone, "She seems like a shy kid?"

"She is," Precia said after a while, "Alicia is overprotective of her and because of that, Fate tended to simply stand behind her," she explained, scoffing at the memory of the complaints she heard of Alicia hurting others because someone is bullying her little sister, "I don't get why, though, Fate's the one who took self-defense classes,"

"So, she is capable of protecting others," Gil mused, "On top of that, she is also an honor student, very polite, a musician and a very good listener," He pointed at each finger on his left hand as he listed all of Fate's traits.

"Yes, she is all that," Precia said, not really meaning her words since she doesn't really know anything about Fate, other than she likes music and the Takamachi girl.

"But, are you sure about this?" Gil said, "They're only 16, Precia and this is a big decision," He said, leaning forward, studying Precia carefully. _Plus, I promised myself that I would never do this to her._ He added in his head.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Precia answered, staring at Gil head on, "It's perfect, actually,"

"I don't know…" Gil sighed out, leaning back in his chair, "Never have I ever thought of doing this to Hayate,"

"It happens all the time," Precia answered nonchalantly, looking at Gil like it was just a normal conversation.

Gil sighed once more, "You know I would agree to an alliance between our companies, even without the promise of marriage, right?" He finally said what was on his mind ever since Precia came to him with the idea.

"But a marriage would certainly ensure the future of the companies this way, right?"

Gil pursed his lips, feeling a headache forming. This conversation was going in circles and he has a feeling that it won't be ending anytime soon.

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like I kind of rushed this chapter. I'll check it out later and maybe edit it when I have the time, since classes are about to start again. I know things are going kinda slow at the moment, but I'm establishing all the main characters for now. I promise the story will pick up soon and of course, more NanoFate! Anyways, thanks for all the comments for the previous chapter. What did you guys think of this one? Good? Bad? Criticisms are always appreciated since I do want to improve my writing skill. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

* * *

Chapter 4

Fate was sitting alone at a table near the stage. It was finally time for the company party that Precia announced a few weeks ago and Fate is trying to hide herself from her mother because she keeps on introducing her to random people. She saw the woman at the far end of the room, talking to one of her associates, smiling and laughing like she never did with her own daughters. Alicia is somewhere in the building doing whatever.

Fate sighed, looking at the huge monitor on the stage with a gif of their company logo playing on loop. She was so bored. She tried to focus on the somewhat decent music that the small orchestra her mom hired is playing as she waited for her sister to arrive with their friends. She noted that the song they were playing must be an original piece of the conductor since she never heard it before.

"Fate-ojou-sama?" Linith called as she approached the young heiress, noting that she looked about ready to bolt.

"Yes, Linith?" Fate turned all her attention to her mother's assistant, sighing inwardly in relief that it was not a stranger who called her.

"Do you need anything? Water or something, maybe?" Linith asked, trying to bait Fate into talking to her, since she knows the blonde gets incredibly restless when she's bored (which doesn't happen a lot), and most of the time, it results to disasters; like that one time the Takamachi's were out of town and Fate was so bored without Nanoha around, she managed to create a 2ft catapult and destroyed a wall in her room, so she slept in Alicia's until it was fixed and repainted completely.

Fate looked at Linith skeptically, "I'm fine, Linith," she turned to look at the orchestra again when the music changed.

Linith continued to watch Fate, not really wanting to leave the girl alone, lest, she wants another disaster going on.

Fate sighed as she noticed Linith still beside her from her peripheral vision, "Linith, do you need anything?"

"No, just keeping an eye on you," Linith said straightforwardly, making Fate frown at her.

"You don't have to…" Fate sighed out, before facing Linith fully, "Why don't you wait for Nanoha and the others in the lobby and bring them here when they arrive?" Fate suggested, and Linith simply nodded her head in acquiescence. Precia, for the first time, allowed them to invite people to the party to make sure that they won't disappear in the middle of it.

"Testarossa," Signum appeared beside the two of them.

"Signum," Fate was shocked to see the pink-haired woman there, "You're here?" she asked dumbly. Linith bowed to the tall woman before taking her leave.

"My boss was invited so, I'm here to keep an eye on him and his granddaughter," Signum explained as she took a seat beside Fate.

"Are the others here, too?" Fate wondered, "Is that girl I bumped into here?" She followed up, an image of the brunette flashing in her mind.

"Just me and Reinforce, I'll introduce you later," Signum answered, watching Hayate and Reinforce enter the elevator from across the room, "And I would appreciate it if you stop calling my master 'that girl', and yes, she is here."

"I'm sorry,"

* * *

"I can't believe you actually forgot your purse in the car," Reinforce sighed as she waited for the elevator to climb down to the lobby of the building.

"I'm sorry, I was just so excited, ojii-chan said there will be people my age here," Hayate stuck her tongue out at her guardian playfully.

"Yes, my master, but your purse?" Reinforce emphasized the last word, wondering just how that slipped the young girl's mind.

"I know, I know,"

The bell dinged and the both of them went out, but before either of them could react, a blonde whirlwind slipped past them into the elevator, almost pushing past Reinforce on her way.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Hayate exclaimed and turned around to face the girl and was surprised at what she saw "It's you! You weren't this rude when we first met," she said, matching the blonde girl's frown. "And I thought you were a little taller, too…" She added under her breath.

The blonde looked at her skeptically, her frown deepening "I don't think we've met before…"

"Oh, so now you're gonna pretend that the other day didn't happen?" Hayate said with attitude.

"Master… Just let her be, no damage was done," Reinforce tugged at Hayate's wrist, trying to stop the impending lecture that the girl was sure to give.

The blonde simply frowned, then smiled sweetly at Hayate before pressing a button on the elevator, chuckling inwardly at the look of shock the brunette was sporting as the elevator doors closed.

"Rude…" Hayate muttered once again, "When I get my hands on that girl…"

"Master, let's just go get your purse, okay?" Reinforce said to calm down the brunette.

* * *

Alicia looked around the room, wondering where Fate was. She finally saw her twin by the stage, conversing with the pink-haired woman from the other day. She rushed to get to where Fate was, bumping waiters and other guests in her haste.

"Fate!" Alicia panted as she flopped down on the chair beside her twin, completely ignoring the woman and not caring that she just interrupted their conversation "I just met the most infuriating girl in the lobby!"

Signum raised an eyebrow at the new blonde in the table.

"Most infuriating girl?" Fate echoed, wondering who that could be.

"Yes! She was all, you're so rude! And we met before!" Alicia said, trying to mimic the girl's voice. "Ugh!"

Fate and Signum looked at each other as the girl continued to rant. Fate waved at a waiter who was holding a tray with glasses of water. The waiter immediately went to their table and gave each of them a glass.

"Here, onee-chan," Fate said, handing a full glass to her sister who was still ranting about the 'annoying brunette'.

Alicia stopped her rant to take the glass, downing its contents in half before calming down. "I'm sorry, I got carried away," she apologized, looking at the oldest one on the table, "Sig… Sig… Sig-something…"

"Signum," Fate offered, smiling at her sister, "She was my kendo teacher,"

"Ooh, the cool sensei you've always told me about when you were still practicing," Alicia said, making Fate blush, "You don't look to be a year older than 25, you started teaching as a teenager?" she asked, blocking Fate's protests.

"I'm actually 26, I started teaching Kendo the year your sister started learning it, and a year after that, I joined the military, got back after an injury and started bodyguard jobs"

"Interesting…" Alicia mused, thinking it over.

"She's a really good fighter," Fate said, "We were actually talking about sparring some time," she added excitedly.

"Well, excuse me for a moment," Alicia stood up and walked to the direction of the comfort rooms.

"Fate- ojou-sama, your friends have arrived," Linith came back, behind her was all their friends, including Yuuno, who just got back from his conference, with the addition of Hayate, who was clinging to Nanoha, and Reinforce, who was standing a little bit behind everyone.

"Ah, the rude girl!" Hayate exclaimed, extracting herself from Nanoha to point at Fate.

"What?" Fate asked, dumbfounded. She looked behind the girl at her friends, who just gaped at Hayate's outburst.

"Master, I don't think that's her, the girl from before was wearing white," Reinforce whispered to Hayate, looking closely at the girl before them.

"I don't care," Hayate started, "Just because you changed your clothes doesn't mean you can run away from me!" She exclaimed once again.

"Um… You must be the infuriating girl she spoke of…" Fate muttered under her breath, glaring at Signum who was smirking, amused at the scene, "She wasn't this abrasive when we bumped into each other the other day…" she muttered.

"I'm infuriating? Well, you're rude!" Hayate said once again, "And you finally remember me from the other day, huh?"

"Master…" Reinforce, once again, tried to stop her master from causing more of a scene because they were now attracting the attention of people near them.

Fate's glare hardened when Signum didn't do anything to stop the scene.

"Ah! The infuriating girl!" Alicia suddenly exclaimed from behind them.

"Wha?" Hayate turned around to come face-to-face with Fate's lookalike, "There's two of you?"

"They're twins, Hayate-chan…" Nanoha said when she saw that Hayate was finally calm enough.

"Oh…"

* * *

An awkward silence filled their table as soon as everyone was seated. Hayate and Alicia were glaring at each other. Signum and Reinforce left them to join Gil at a table beside the teenagers with Precia and Linith. As usual with their friendship, Alicia is seated at the head of the table with Fate to her left and Nanoha right beside her, while Hayate took Yuuno's usual spot beside Nanoha. On the other side of Alicia are Arisa, Suzuka and Yuuno.

"So, how is everyone?" Yuuno braved the tension filling the air, and yelped when two glares were sent his way from Hayate and Alicia.

"Stop it. What happened between you two, anyway?" Arisa finally had enough of the glaring.

"Nothing" Hayate responded stubbornly, before turning her gaze to Fate, "I'm sorry I called you rude, especially after the other day," She said with a wide smile directed to Fate.

"Wow, add bipolar to the list," Alicia said under her breath, which successfully managed to return Hayate's full attention to her.

"Did you say something?" Hayate narrowed her eyes.

"Umm…" Fate wondered what she could do to ease the tension.

"C'mon, Alicia-chan, Hayate-chan, we're all friends here so, let's all get along, all right?" Nanoha interjected, bothered by Fate's uneasy posture.

Fate eagerly nodded her head at the suggestion as she looked between Hayate and her sister, "What Nanoha said,"

Alicia mumbled an agreement reluctantly, knowing that Nanoha can be scary when she doesn't get what she wants. Hayate sighed and nodded her head once Alicia finally gave up. After that, everybody started talking between each other, with Yuuno and Hayate talking about London, while Alicia, Arisa and Suzuka talked about the upcoming school year, so that left Nanoha and Fate looking at each other bashfully (well, at least Fate was).

"You look great tonight, Nanoha," Fate whispered low enough for only Nanoha to hear, thankful that the low light in the room hides her blush.

"Thank you, Fate-chan," Nanoha whispered back, "You look amazing, too."

Before anymore could be said between the two, Linith took the stage as the waiters began to serve the food, "Welcome everyone to this company party, hosted by our president, Precia Testarossa," applause followed the statement as Precia stood up from her place to wave at the crowd, "Please enjoy the dinner and after that, the president has an announcement, thank you." Linith bowed and left the stage to sit beside Precia once again.

"Wow, this looks delicious," Nanoha said, her mouth starting to water at the sight of the pasta and steak in front of her. All the others hummed their agreement as they all chanted, "Itadakimasu!" together.

"Delicious!" Hayate said, eating fast, yet still managing to look like a proper lady.

 _Pretty…_ Alicia thought as she watched Hayate, blushing when the brunette caught her eye. Silence filled their table after that moment, each of them eating quietly.

"Hey, I have a question," Hayate said suddenly, breaking the silence in the table and effectively getting everyone's attention, "How come Fate-chan's taller than her even if they're identical?" She said, rudely pointing at Alicia.

"She's tactless…" Arisa whispered to Suzuka, who simply giggled.

A vein popped in Alicia's forehead, "First of all, I do have a name! And being identical twins doesn't mean we need to be exactly the same!" _And to think I thought she was pretty!_

"They started again…" Yuuno muttered as he watched the glaring match happening.

Fate simply sighed, already feeling that this would be a regular occurrence, turning her full attention to her food once again. She glanced at Nanoha's Fate and saw the girl discarding some of the carrots on the side of her plate, so she grabbed the vegetables and placed them on her plate. Nanoha smiled at her and took the green peas from Fate's plate, knowing that the blonde girl doesn't really like them all that much.

A spotlight suddenly shined on the stage, interrupting their dinner, as Precia walked to the podium on the stage, smiling widely; showing off her perfect white teeth.

"Your mother's really pretty," Suzuka said in awe at the sight of Precia.

Nanoha simply held Fate's hand as they watched Precia arrange the microphone to fit her height.

"Good evening everyone," Precia started off, looking around the room, "I am glad that our company has grown like this, and I am certainly happy to announce that it continues to grow up to today," she paused for effect, "Because as of yesterday, the head scientist of the Numbers Science Laboratories, Jail Scaglietti, who, unfortunately cannot attend tonight's celebration, has agreed to a merger between our own Testarossa Research Facility," she ended with a smile, as a huge applause followed her statement.

"Wow, you guys just keep getting rich, huh?" Yuuno said jokingly at Alicia and Fate who only smiled tightly at him.

"Wait, what? You're the Testarossa Twins?" Hayate said, shocked at the realization. Face-palming herself once she finally remembered what the twins supposed names are.

"We thought it was obvious?" Alicia asked mockingly.

"Shut up,"

"They're like an old couple, aren't they?" Nanoha whispered to Fate's ear.

Precia was about to end her announcement there, but a quick look at her daughters' table, she saw Nanoha leaning in to whisper something to Fate. The intimate gesture made her stand down and make a decision.

"And one more, an alliance with Yagami Hotels is underway," Precia suddenly announced, her cool demeanor diminishing slightly.

"I thought that was a secret until it gets finalized?" Signum whispered to her boss.

Gil simply frowned, wondering what Precia was up to.

"And on that note, a possible marriage between our kin; my youngest daughter, Fate Testarossa, and the Yagami Hotel's CEO, Gil Graham's granddaughter, the lovely Yagami Hayate." Precia finished, the room going silent. She watched in satisfaction as Nanoha visibly pulled away from Fate as the news registered. She turned her back to her audience, smirking to herself as she walked out of the stage.

As the room started to fill with chatter at the announcements, the teenagers table remained quiet, still processing the news they just heard. Nanoha was the first to react, abruptly standing up, almost knocking her chair down.

Fate tried to touch Nanoha's hand, but Nanoha moved away, "Nanoha…"

"I'm just going to get some fresh air," Nanoha said, then practically jogged towards the balcony, everyone watching her retreating form.

Hayate looked at her supposed future wife. Fate was biting her lip, trying to keep herself from lashing out.

"Just when I thought I've heard the worst of your mom, I actually see her do something like this," Arisa murmured, looking at Fate, then Hayate.

That statement seemed to get the other occupants back to the present and Alicia's eyes burned with anger as she glared at the brunette, "Did you know about this?" she practically spat out, her voice filled with venom.

At the look on Alicia's face, Hayate knew this was different from their earlier banter, "I didn't, I swear. I didn't ever think ojii-chan would set me up like this." She whispered, but the whole table heard it.

"Onee-chan, calm down. You're scaring her." Fate said, taking hold of one of Alicia's hands before turning her gaze to Hayate, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out. It was probably our mother's idea so don't take it out on your grandfather, okay?"

"We'll help in any way we can" Yuuno said from his corner as Arisa and Suzuka nodded their heads in agreement. As the three talked battle plans on how to stop a wedding, Fate stood up to follow Nanoha out. She's sure the copper-haired girl would've calmed down by now.

* * *

"Precia," Gil called the woman sternly. It was a good thing he managed to get away from Signum and Reinforce before Precia dropped the bomb. Those two are the most protective of Hayate's guardians and he knows they're not afraid to lose their jobs to protect Hayate's happiness.

"Gil, hello," Precia greeted casually, probably not even caring that she just dropped a huge bomb on not only her household but also the Graham-Yagamis'.

"I would like to speak with you in private, please." Gil said, his tone was authoritative, fitting for a military general.

"Very well, then."

Gil followed Precia as she led her up a floor and into her office. Once they were in the confines and privacy of the room, Gil finally exploded.

"Why did you say that?!" He exclaimed, a vein sticking out of his neck in his rage, "Did you ever think how this would affect my relationship with my granddaughter?!"

"Now, now, Gil, it's not that bad," Precia said with a laugh, which infuriated the retired general more.

"Not that bad? Not that bad?!" Then in his moment of rage, he just spoke what was on his mind, inconsiderate of the woman's feelings, "You may not care your daughters but I cherish Hayate more than my life,"

This managed to wipe Precia's grin off her face.

Gil realized what he just said and he looked apologetic, he visibly softened his stance but his anger stopped him from apologizing to the woman, so he simply walked out.

* * *

"Nanoha," Fate called from the balcony door, for the first time, afraid to go closer to Nanoha even if the copper haired girl's back was to her.

Nanoha squeezed her eyes shut as she heard that husky voice say her name in a way only she can.

"Nanoha, are you okay?" Fate asked, taking a step closer, noticing that Nanoha was shivering, her protective best friend instincts kicked in as she closed their distance and hugged Nanoha. But, what surprised her was that Nanoha wasn't actually _shivering._ Nanoha was _crying._ "Nanoha?"

Nanoha stepped away from Fate's hold then turned to face the blonde as she wiped away her tears, "Shouldn't you be spending time with your fiancée?" she asked bitterly.

"What? She's not my fiancée," Fate said defensively, then she stopped as another tear slid down Nanoha's face, "Please tell me why you're upset?"

Nanoha simply shook her head at Fate, "You're so dense, Fate-chan," was all she offered as an answer.

"I don't understand…"

"Exactly,"

…

…

"Did I do something wrong?" Fate asked, taking a step closer towards Nanoha once again, but Nanoha simply backed away.

"Just leave me alone, Fate-chan," Then Nanoha walked away, leaving Fate to, once again, stare at her retreating back.

 _Did we just fight?_ Was Fate's only thought.

* * *

 **A/N: I was just really excited to finish this part so, here you go! Do you guys think it's rushed or something? Because I think something's missing but I've been working on it for the past two days now. Anyway, thanks for all those reviews and follows and favorites! I really appreciate them. So, what did you think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Something?**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

* * *

Chapter 5

Fate was walking the familiar path to the Takamachi household. It's been two days since the party and Nanoha still refuses to talk to her; declined cellphone calls, unanswered text messages and emails. And now, she refuses to just sit and watch as Nanoha pulls herself away from her because of that stupid announcement.

She looks at the house for a moment before nodding to herself in assurance and walking to the front door. She knows that Momoko is home while Shiro, Kyouya and Miyuki are at the dojo. So, with a deep sigh, she knocked on the door softly. She counted up to 15 before the door swung open and she was greeted with the sight of Momoko in an apron.

"G'morning, Momoko-san," Fate greeted with a little wave, smiling at the older woman genuinely.

"Fate-chan," Momoko was surprised to see the blonde, but she supposes she shouldn't really be, since it was quite obvious that something happened between Fate and Nanoha at the party. "Good morning, it's been a while." She smiled at the blonde, ushering her in.

Fate removed her shoes and left it at the shoe rack, before grabbing a slipper to use inside the house. Her movements were done with ease from the many times she's been at this home.

"Nanoha is upstairs in her room, probably still sleeping, will you wake her up for me? It's almost time for breakfast." Momoko requested.

Fate hesitated for a bit before nodding. Momoko watched as she slowly walked to the stairs then turned back to her, "Did she say anything?" she asked softly.

Momoko shook her head, "But you better fix it soon Fate-chan, I've missed you the two days you weren't here," she said jokingly, yet both of them know that the sentiment is true. Fate would always stop by the Takamachi house everyday on her daily run just to say hi even for just 5 minutes.

Fate felt better hearing that, so with a smile, she dashed the whole way to Nanoha's room. She slowly opened the door and saw that Nanoha was indeed still asleep. She walked slowly towards the bed, sitting down on the edge as she looked at Nanoha's face. Smiling, she put a hand on Nanoha's shoulder to shake her awake.

"Nanoha, it's time to wake up."

Nanoha groaned and turned her back to Fate, mumbling incoherently.

Fate smirked at the expected response, so she stood up and grabbed a discarded pillow from the bottom of the bed, "Last call, Nanoha, are you gonna wake up?" she said playfully. When Nanoha remained motionless, she swung the pillow to Nanoha's hip. Hard.

Nanoha yelped and quickly sat up, her blinking eyes looking for the person who woke her. When her eyes landed on Fate, she flopped back down on her bed, "Mou, Fate-chan…" She whined sleepily.

"Well, g'morning to you, too," Fate greeted, sitting back down on the bed, waiting for Nanoha to fully awaken.

After a few minutes, Nanoha opened her eyes once more and she looked at Fate thoughtfully, "I'm sorry I was ignoring you…"

Fate was surprised; she didn't expect that Nanoha would be the one to bring that up. Fate simply smiled and shook her head, "It wasn't your fault," she started, taking a hold of Nanoha's hand, smiling inwardly when the girl didn't pull away. "You were upset because of the engagement" Nanoha squeezed Fate's hand at the statement, looking away from the blonde, "But, it wasn't only you. Hayate, onee-chan… Me… Even Suzuka, Arisa and Yuuno" she sighed out, "We all were, it was so unexpected…"

"I know, that's why I'm sorry for reacting so dramatically," Nanoha sat up, coming face to face with the blonde, "I just didn't like the idea of spending less time with you if you were to ever get married." Nanoha confessed.

"You think I'd just set you aside? You're my number 1, Nanoha, don't forget that."

* * *

"Where is your sister?" Precia's voice cut through the dining room, as maids went in and out of the kitchen to serve her and Alicia their breakfast.

 _De Javu._ Alicia thought before responding, "She went to Nanoha, probably apologizing for the announcement you made," she spat out, not bothering to hide her anger towards her mother.

"Oh? I take it that girl didn't like it," Precia chuckled as she took a sip of her coffee.

Alicia's grip on her fork tightened, "Her name is Nanoha and why did you do it?" she let go of the fork and it 'clanged' loudly on her plate, "You know, right?" she asked, staring at the impassive face of Precia, "Right?!," she exclaimed. Normally, she wouldn't raise her voice at her mother, because even if she wasn't much of a mother-figure, she was still her mother and she respects her. But, she crossed a line by doing that to her dear baby sister; arranging Fate into a marriage that would never make her happy.

All the maids watched as Alicia, for the first time in her life, stood up to her mother. Neither of the twins ever had the courage to do so, up until now.

Precia looked at the head maid, "Please leave us alone," she requested, turning her gaze back to her daughter as the maids were ushered out of the room and they were left in privacy with the closing of the door, "Tell me, Alicia," She dragged the name out, her eyes glinting teasingly, "What do I know?"

Alicia pursed her lips, glaring at her mother, knowing that the older woman is simply dragging the conversation, "Fate's in love," She started, smirking inwardly when her mother's face hardened, "with Nanoha." She finished and her mother now, matches her glare.

"What do you know about love, Alicia?" Precia stood up, towering over Alicia, who is not backing down from their staring contest "What does Fate know about love?" she followed up then she chuckled humorlessly, "I'll tell you what I know about love, Alicia, it ruins your life," She spat out before turning around and walking to the door, opening the double doors hard that Alicia was afraid it would come off its hinges.

Alicia sat still, shocked at what her mother just told her, wondering what she meant and if she ever fell in love.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Graham-Yagami household, Signum and Reinforce, both of which are usually quiet people, are interrogating Gil about the supposed arrange marriage. Gil refuses to talk to them about it, but both women are stubbornly asking the same questions ever since the party.

Now, Gil is a patient man, but he hasn't been in a really good mood since the party, because one, Precia really angered him, and two, the reason that really grates on his nerves is that Hayate has yet to question him about it.

"Look," His voice boomed and Signum and Reinforce finally had the decency to look ashamed of their actions, "Both of you work for me, so I suggest that you stop questioning me like I'm a criminal. I make my own decisions and none of your opinions will change that." He said harshly, making the two recoil at his tone.

"But, the master's happiness-"

"Is my happiness, okay?" Gil interrupted Signum's statement, sighing, he sagged down to the couch, "I know you're looking out for her and so am I." He looked at the two stoic women in front of him and offered them a smile to let them know that he's not mad at them, "It was all Precia; she did suggest it, but I didn't agree. I would never do that to Hayate, okay?"

"We're terribly sorry," Signum and Reinforce said at the same time, bowing in front of Gil apologetically.

"However, the damage has been done, there were press in that event and it would take a while for that news to die down." He sighed, looking at a portrait of him and a little Hayate, about the age of 10, who was in crutches, both of them grinning widely at the camera, "And I don't know what Precia is telling her daughters but I'll be sure to tell Hayate that she won't be forced to anything

* * *

The next day, Yuuno and Arisa were waiting for their homeroom teacher to arrive, eager to see if either or both of the Testarossa twins would be in their class. They sneaked glances at each other, wondering what was taking their teacher too long since they were on opposite ends of the classroom. The bell rang about five minutes ago and both of them were getting restless. After another minute, the teacher finally walked in, silencing the commotion that was going on inside.

"I hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation and did all your homework," She greeted her students with a smile, "but before that, we have a new student joining us today,"

Whispers spread throughout the room at the announcement, the students chattering excitedly amongst themselves about who the new student could be. Yuuno and Arisa smiled at each other, with the latter holding two thumbs up.

"You can come in now,"

The door opened again, and a blushing Testarossa opened it. The whole room went quiet, in awe of the blonde, and one thought came in Arisa and Yuuno's mind, _It's Fate._ Arisa chuckled softly in her seat while Yuuno just smiled encouragingly at the girl in front.

"Hi," Fate started, visibly relaxing when he recognized that Yuuno and Arisa were her classmates, she caught Yuuno's eyes and he mouthed words of encouragement, "I'm Fate Testarossa, um, Fate being my first name," she smiled when she saw Arisa giving her two thumbs up, "It's nice to meet you." She finished with a bow.

The whole class remained quiet after the greeting, making Fate grow incredibly anxious once again.

* * *

Meanwhile, In Nanoha and Suzuka's class, the teacher just arrived and just managed to quiet the whole class. Clearing her throat, she finally announced, "There will be two students joining us today,"

Just like in the previous class, chatter spread out around the room. Nanoha turned around to smile knowingly at Suzuka who smiled back at her.

"Please come in,"

Once the door opened, the chatter ceased immediately as the students examined the two newcomers. Nanoha's jaw dropped. When she turned around to face Suzuka, the purple-haired girl has the same reaction as her so, she's sure that she wasn't seeing things. Both of them were expecting two blondes; not a blonde and a brunette. And said blonde and brunette were scowling at each other, before the brunette turned to face the class, brightening up when she locked eyes with Nanoha.

Nanoha deflated in her seat, knowing that the blonde in front is not _her blonde._ Suzuka patted her on the back, knowing what the copper haired girl is thinking.

"You can introduce yourselves now, anyone can go first,"

Hayate quickly stomped on Alicia's foot to silence her, making the blonde yelp, curling up to grab her abused foot. "Good morning everyone, I'm Yagami Hayate," she greeted sweetly as if she didn't just violently assaulted the girl beside her, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Alicia. Alicia Testarossa," The blonde girl followed up, glaring at Hayate, "It's a pleasure to meet you guys," Then they bowed together.

The teacher glanced at them nervously, more at Hayate than Alicia, though. She cleared her throat before addressing the brunette, taking a cautious step back "Yagami-san, violence isn't tolerated in this school. I'll let it slide since it's your first day, but please refrain from doing it again."

Hayate simply nodded, smiling innocently at the teacher.

"Very well then, feel free to sit anywhere you like," The teacher thought about it for a moment, "Or actually, sit as far away from each other as possible."

* * *

It was lunchtime and Nanoha and Suzuka, now with the addition of Alicia and Hayate, waited at their usual spot in the courtyard, waiting for Arisa and Yuuno to arrive with Fate. Suzuka just received a text message from Arisa, stating that there might be a Fate Testarossa fan club by the end of the day, confirming that the other Testarossa has been assigned to their class.

"What's taking them so long?" Alicia asked from beside Nanoha, playing with her chopsticks. They were sitting in a semicircle in the grass, from the left; it was Alicia, Nanoha, Suzuka then Hayate. Alicia was about to follow up a question when no one answered, but Suzuka beat her to talking.

"Ah, there they are," Suzuka said, seeing the trio walk up to them. Fate looked exhausted, Arisa looked pissed and Yuuno looked unsure. She then began to wonder what happened in their class.

"Hey, guys," Fate waved tiredly before sitting beside her sister and leaning her head on her shoulder.

"Hello," Yuuno greeted, taking a seat beside Hayate, shaking the brunette's hand in greeting with a smile.

"Try marking your territory, Nanoha, it might stop our classmates from assaulting her," Arisa opened instead of a normal greeting, sitting down beside Fate "Oh, you're here," she added uninterestedly once she finally noticed the brunette beside Suzuka.

Nanoha tried to stutter out a response and Fate sat upright, blushing at Arisa's words. They looked at each other, smiling shyly, before Hayate spoke.

"Oh, are you guys dating?" Hayate asked slyly, looking at Nanoha for confirmation, and then turned her gaze to the shy blonde.

"No!" Nanoha squeaked out, while Fate simply shook her head fervently at the question.

"You might as well be," Arisa grumbled and everyone simply agreed while Hayate looked at the two in question with mischievous eyes.

"Good, I don't want to be the fiancée of someone who's already in love," Hayate remarked playfully, completely missing the way the whole group tensed.

"No wedding or engagement is happening under my watch!" Alicia said heatedly, glaring at the brunette, who simply stuck her tongue out at the blonde.

"What took you so long, anyway?" Suzuka asked, noting Arisa's mood and to stop the impending argument about to happen.

"Ask the unbelievably charming transfer student over there," Arisa answered, opening her bento and beginning to eat, with Yuuno following her lead. The four students from the other class turned to Fate, waiting for her explanation.

"Um, well… You see…" Fate stuttered, looking at all the expectant faces, "Why don't we start eating now? I'll share with you guys!" She said desperately trying to take the topic away from her, opening her bento, revealing a perfectly made lunch.

But the four remained looking at her, still waiting. Fate turned to Arisa and Yuuno for support, but Arisa simply turned, taking a huge bite from her lunch, while Yuuno simply smiled at her, so she finally sighed in defeat.

"Our classmates crowded around me to ask some questions, and then it got out of control…" Fate finally admitted, pouting.

"It got out of control?" Arisa interjected, glaring at the blonde, "I had to step up to save you from them, then they mobbed me! See this?" She showed her forearm, which has a small bruise from when one of their classmates managed to push her.

"It wasn't that bad," Yuuno assured from his position, making Arisa glare at him "Carim saved you, didn't she?"

"Yes, then one look at Fate, she completely lost her focus."

 _ **Flashback – start of lunchtime**_

 _Fate, Arisa and Yuuno were about to go out of the classroom, when one boy called out to Fate._

" _Hello, Testarossa-san!" He greeted awkwardly, offering his hand to the blonde, and Fate noted that his grip wasn't firm "I just wanted to ask if your sister also transferred…" His question trailed off when another classmate took Fate's attention._

" _Fate-san, where are you from originally?" A girl this time asked with a blush, looking at Fate shyly. She was however shoved towards Fate when more of their classmates crowded around the new student, effectively blocking the doorway. More and more questions were thrown at the blonde, but none were answered._

" _Hey!" Arisa yelled, trying to get to the middle to save Fate from the chaos. However, one boy shoved her and she ended up hitting one of the empty tables._

" _Are you okay?" Yuuno was immediately by the girl's side, looking for any injuries, and when he deemed that she was alright, he turned back to the crowd, about to use his power as the class representative to stop the chaos._

" _What is going on here?!" A voice boomed from the hallway, effectively stopping the commotion. Most of the students fled the scene, afraid to get in trouble with the authoritative figure, while some nonchalantly went back to their seats inside the classroom._

 _Carim didn't notice the blonde inhaling deeply by the door and she set her gaze to Yuuno, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be controlling your classmates, not just watch them…" Most of the people zoned out what she was saying while Yuuno simply bowed his head in embarrassment._

 _Fate watched as the blonde grilled Yuuno about the chaos. Feeling guilty, she tapped the older girl on the shoulder cautiously, completely missing the look of horror on the other people's faces._

" _What?!" Carim turned around sharply to face who dare stop her wrath._

" _I'm sorry, it was my fault!" Fate bowed deeply, closing her eyes tightly._

" _And who might you be?" Carim asked skeptically._

 _Fate straightened up, coming eye to eye with the older blonde, "Fate Testarossa, I transferred today," she introduced herself, still looking apologetic._

 _Carim froze at seeing the blonde's face fully, blushing up to the tips of her ears, "V-very well, then," She stuttered out, clearing her throat to hide the shakiness of her voice, "I'll let it slide for now, but this better not happen again."_

" _Understood," Fate answered, smiling at the girl, who turned a deeper shade of red before dashing out of the classroom, "She's nice…" Fate murmured, looking at her friends, who were gaping at what just happened._

 _ **End Flashback**_

"No way!" Suzuka and Nanoha exclaimed after the story, "You actually got out of trouble with that one, Fate-chan," Suzuka said, in awe of the blonde right now.

"What do you mean?" Fate asked, finally beginning to eat.

"Carim's the student council president and she doesn't really let anyone get away from anything," Nanoha explained, leaning over Alicia to grab a sausage from Fate's bento.

"Yeah, she likes Fate, it's obvious from the way she reacted at seeing her," Yuuno concluded, his explanation trailing off when Hayate began moving.

Hayate crawled over to the space between Fate and Arisa to whisper something to Fate, making the blonde blush bright red, "You're adorable." Everyone stopped eating to watch the two.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Alicia asked, glaring at the brunette, which isn't really new.

"She's my fiancée, your mother announced it, and it's all over the papers, so I thought I should get to know her better."

"Look, you-" Alicia began but was cut off when Nanoha abruptly stood up.

"I left my water bottle in the classroom; I'm just going ahead of you guys," Then Nanoha left, not listening to her friends' protests.

Everyone except Fate turned to glare at Hayate, who looked innocently at her food. Fate watched Nanoha go as far as the school entrance before she stood up to follow her. That action spurred the other occupants in their circle, with Suzuka and Yuuno wearing looks of disbelief while Arisa and Alicia were about ready to pounce on the brunette.

"What is wrong with you?!" Arisa screamed, holding a patch of grass to prevent herself from killing or at least hurting the brunette.

Alicia had no qualms about laying her hands on the brunette, though, since she dived straight towards her to grip her collar, "If they fight again because of that stupid engagement thing, I swear I will-"

Hayate simply rolled her eyes and pushed Alicia back, "Look, I have my reasons; this'll get your mother off your back for a while, too, right? Signum likes her a lot and she's actually the one who suggested this" she asked, making the older twin soften for a little bit, "I'm not here to hurt you guys, okay? I actually want to be your guys' friend."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Suzuka asked cautiously, the ever gracious ojou-sama always looking for the good in other people, asks before her two aggressive friends do some damage.

"I just thought I could help. Signum thinks she's like a very cute puppy and people would flock to her so she said; if people think that we're engaged, they won't try anything with her" Hayate said sagely, nodding to herself at her guardian's logic.

"Well, that's stupid," Arisa grumbled, her stance lightening, "But, it might work. And you could've told us to stop all that drama" She said, waving in the direction Fate and Nanoha went.

"Well where's the fun in that?" Hayate teased.

Suzuka and Yuuno pondered it a bit before nodding her acquiescence. "I'll tell Nanoha-chan about it later," Suzuka said, smiling at the brunette. Glad that her intentions were good, although it could be bad for her health if she pushes Nanoha too hard.

"Are you serious?" Alicia asked the other blonde, wide-eyed.

"I don't want another bruise and people need to take a hint." Arisa answered, crossing her arms.

"Well, Nanoha could be their hint!" Alicia shrieked before turning back to the brunette, "I am not gonna allow you to molest my sister!"

Hayate rolled her eyes, "Well, it's more believable this way, two corporate heiresses engaged" she fired back.

Alicia faltered, actually thinking that the brunette's logic was perfect, "You're unbelievable!"

"And that kind of attitude is exactly why your sister is more popular than you!"

"That's irrelevant!"

Suzuka smiled at the interaction, thinking that Hayate totally fits in with their group.

"You're rude and annoying!"

Yep. Definitely fits right in.

* * *

"Nanoha, wait!" Fate tried to catch up with the brunette on her way up the stairs. As far as Fate knows, their room was supposed to be on the first floor. Normally, she could outrun Nanoha, but right now, Nanoha was intent on getting away from her.

"Go away, Fate-chan!" Nanoha shouted once she was in the middle of the rooftop. Her eyes were closed and her heart was racing from the workout she just did.

"Nanoha" Fate called firmly, not even breaking a sweat as she walked towards the copper haired girl, "I am not letting you ignore me again,"

Nanoha swiftly turned around to face Fate, but what she didn't anticipate was the blonde would be right behind her and she lost her footing, so with a gasp, she grabbed Fate's shoulder for support and they both fell down.

With Fate on top of Nanoha.

With Fate on top of Nanoha, their bodies flushed together.

With Fate on top of Nanoha, their bodies flushed together and with their lips connected.

* * *

Suzuka, Hayate and Alicia were walking back to their classroom. They parted with Yuuno and Arisa at the entrance of the school since their classroom was on the other end of the hallway. There was still five minutes left before lunch ends, so they took their time walking.

"Ah, seitokaichou," Suzuka said, looking at the figure in front of their classroom.

"Hm?" Hayate and Alicia looked at the stern-looking girl, before Hayate brightened up and ran the rest of the way, "Carim!"

"Wha? Hayate?" Carim caught the brunette confusedly, "You're one of the transfer students?"

Hayate nodded, letting go of the older girl. Suzuka and Alicia finally caught up to her, both of them watching the interaction curiously.

"Good afternoon, Carim-seitokaichou, what brings you here?" Suzuka greeted politely.

"Tsukimura-san, I was informed that there were also transfer students in this class. After the chaos in class 1-A, I thought I should warn them about that," Carim stated professionally, then her gaze turned to the girl beside Suzuka, "T-T-Testarossa-san!" she exclaimed, blushing once again.

"Hello, Alicia Testarossa," Alicia greeted, extending her hand to the older girl, who looked confused.

"Alicia?"

"Yes, I heard you met my sister a while ago, I'm sorry, that usually happens," Alicia said apologetically.

"I-i-it's okay…" Carim stuttered out, trying to get her bearing back. _There are two of them!_

Before anymore could be said, Fate and Nanoha made their way to the front of the room. Nanoha barely glanced at the people by the door, simply going inside the classroom towards her desk, while Fate waved awkwardly at the group.

"Is she okay?" Suzuka asked worriedly.

Fate blushed suddenly, remembering the kiss.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Hayate asked mischievously, noting that Fate's cheeks turned darker at the question.

"Nothing! I'm going now! Bye, guys! Bye, Carim-san!" Fate rushed out, sprinting back towards her classroom to avoid anymore questions.

Carim blushed once again when Fate mentioned her name, making Hayate's attention turn towards her. "Oh, you like Fate-chan, don't you?" Hayate teased.

"Shut up, Hayate," Carim said softly, glaring effortlessly at the brunette who simply smiled and dodged a hand about to hit her.

"Wow, you just annoy everyone, don't you?" Alicia remarked from the side, while Suzuka wondered about Hayate and Carim's interactions. Normally, the strict president would be ordering punishments for the poor person who dare tease her.

Hayate gaped at the older Testarossa twin, then turned her attention back to the president, "You've got great taste, Carim. Liking Fate-chan instead of her rude older sister."

"Why you?!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites. Now, I bring bad news, since I won't be able to update again in a month or two because I have to finish my thesis. But, I promise to start writing again after that! And this is the longest chapter I ever wrote for this story, so I hope it would suffice for now. Anyway, how was this chapter? Good? Bad?**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

* * *

Chapter 6

Hayate was knocking obnoxiously on a door that one of the maids pointed her to. She's been knocking for about a minute before the door opened hard, catching her off guard and making her stumble into the room's owner.

"Hayate? What are you doing here?" A sleepy blonde came into Hayate's view as the brunette looked up.

Hayate took a good look at the blonde, chuckling awkwardly, she straightened up, "I thought this was Fate-chan's room…" She explained sheepishly.

Alicia examined her for a moment before motioning her inside, "Fate's room is next door, but she's probably not home from her morning run yet,"

"I see…" Hayate said to fill the awkward silence as she followed Alicia inside the room.

"My room's a bit emptier than Fate's since I hang out there most of the time, anyway," Alicia explained as she sat down on the sofa, encouraging Hayate to do the same. Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number and began to ask for tea to be brought to her room.

Hayate took a seat at the farthest corner and simply examined Alicia's room. "It's more regular than I thought…" Hayate whispered to herself, taking a good look at a bookshelf filled with various novels, from what she could see in the distance.

"Did you say something?" Alicia asked as she ended the call.

"Your room seems awfully messy." Hayate remarked, automatically going back to insulting the blonde.

A vein popped up on Alicia's forehead, "And what is that supposed to mean?!"

* * *

"Fate-chan!" Hayate exclaimed when the younger Testarossa came in from some door in Alicia's room.

"Hayate? Hello," Fate greeted politely as she moved inside the room.

"You took longer than usual, I know because _she's_ been here for a while," Alicia said with a pout, stressing the word 'she'.

"Well, you guys seem to be getting along well." Fate said with a smile, sitting in one of the lone sofas and grabbing a cookie from the plate on the table.

"If by well you mean that this girl has been insulting everything inside my room, then yeah, we're doing great," Alicia said sarcastically, "And it would be great if you can get her out of my hair now since she came for you,"

Hayate pouted and crossed her arms, "Well, fine, if that's how you feel!" the brunette exclaimed, before digging into her bag, looking for something, "Here, Fate-chan," She said, her voice softer but still upset, giving a small package to Fate, "Just a thank you for going along with whatever I've been up to this week. Signum said you like these things, so, there,"

"Um, thanks…" Fate whispered, examining the expensive looking box pensively. Their first week in the new school hasn't exactly been easy or anything like that. Her and Nanoha weren't exactly ignoring each other; they would still sit close together and share their food and cuddle sometimes, but there's awkwardness around them, because of the… incident… on the rooftop… Fate's face burned when the memory was brought back to her mind. And it certainly didn't help that Hayate seems to have developed a hobby of teasing her. At least Hayate and Nanoha's friendship seems intact.

"I'll be going now, since someone clearly doesn't want me here," The brunette said with attitude, before storming out of the room.

Alicia "hmphed" in her place before turning her gaze to Fate, her expression guilty from what just happened.

"Maybe you've been a little too hard on her?" Fate asked softly, turning her gaze away from the box to face her sister.

"Whatever, just open the thing already, for all we know, it could be a bomb,"

Fate sighed, flipping the top of the box open, finding a note inside, she read it with her eyes first before smiling nervously at her sister, "Umm…"

"What?" Alicia asked, standing up to sit on the armrest of where Fate was sitting to read the note herself.

To Fate-chan and her annoying sister,

I know this isn't much but,  
thank you for sticking with me  
this week

I made them myself so, see! I'm  
not totally helpless! Hehe.

-Hayate

Inside the box were two small figurines, one shaped like a grand piano while the other one was shaped like a bookshelf; both objects fit perfectly in the palm of Fate's hand. They didn't look perfect but, the person who made them sure seemed to put in the effort with the details.

Alicia's guilt returned ten-fold once she saw the contents. She scratched her cheek in embarrassment and pouted at Fate, silently asking for advice.

"Maybe you should go apologize on Monday?" Fate suggested, handing over the bookshelf figurine to Hayate.

"Yeah…" Alicia said softly, gazing at the item longingly.

Just when Alicia was about to say something more, the door to the room opened.

"Hello, dear children," Precia greeted with a smile, sauntering near the girls and gracefully sitting down on the couch in front of Fate.

Alicia narrowed her eyes at her mother while Fate just looked confused. Precia hasn't been bothering them all week ever since Alicia's outburst, which Fate is still clueless about.

"Good morning, okaa-san," Alicia greeted cautiously, and Fate followed with her own.

"Wonderful morning, indeed, girls," Precia said, smiling widely, "I saw Hayate-chan on her way out as I was coming home. We're you good to her, Fate?" She asked mischievously. Fate stiffened in her seat at the insinuation.

Alicia sighed and began to feel irritated with her mother, "Okaa-san, Hayate just visited to give us something for being good friends," Alicia replied, stressing on the last word for emphasis, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder for support.

"But, this is a good opportunity, Fate!" Precia exclaimed in excitement, "Can't you see this wonderful opportunity for our company?" She clasped her hands together, "You should ask her out on a date, Fate," the mother suggested, but the look in her eyes clearly said that Fate should obey her or face the consequences.

"But, okaa-san…" Fate tried to say her piece but, Precia abruptly stood up.

"You will do as I say, Fate, unless you want something happening to the Takamachi's business…" Precia said without looking at either girls' face before walking out of the room.

Alicia's jaw dropped at her mother's words and Fate's eyes widened as she helplessly watched Precia walk out. Alicia clenched her jaw and stood up to go follow her but Fate's hand on her wrist stopped her.

"It'll be useless and you know it," Fate said with a sigh, sagging back in her seat.

Alicia looked at her open door then at Fate in defeat.

* * *

Precia speed walked to her room, feeling her heartbeat speed up since she left her daughter's room. She fumbled with the doorknob of her room as she thought back to the events in her office the previous night and the reason she spent the whole night in an exclusive bar.

 _"Threaten the thing that keeps her standing…"_

She finally got the door open and she stumbled to her bed.

 _"You want her to do as you say, right? Hit her where it will hurt the most."_

She looked at her bedside table with the picture of the twins during their 5th Birthday.

 _"Her weakness? That Takamachi Nanoha"_

She clenched her jaw and hardened her resolve. _I don't know what you have planned, Scaglietti, but if it will keep my Fate from that girl, then, fine._

* * *

Once Alicia was sure that the whole household was asleep, she stood up and turned on her computer. She paced the room as she waited for the computer to boot. Once that was done, she opened Skype and sent a thank you above when the person she wanted to talk to was online.

Her mouse hovered over the name, hesitating a bit. But, then she remembered Fate's face earlier that morning and finally clicked the name. Alicia held her breath as she listened to the generic ringtone, praying that someone would answer. And her heart stopped and she let out a tearful smile when the call connected.

"Aunty Lindy…"

* * *

The next day, Fate rang the door nervously. She was wearing a plain blue shirt with a cute jacket over it and pants with her favorite Converse shoes. She was hoping Hayate was free for the day just to get her mother's ridiculous suggestion over with. When the door opened, Fate let out a relieved breath when Signum answered it. The pink-haired woman simply opened the door wider to let the teenager in. She navigated Fate towards the living room and let her sit down.

"Do you need anything?" Signum finally asked, moving towards where Fate would assume the kitchen is.

"Water would be fine," Fate answered, looking around. The house was huge but it had a more homey feel than theirs did.

"The master is out buying groceries, she'll be back soon, so, if you're willing to wait, feel free," Signum said before going to fetch Fate's water.

Fate sighed out, glad to have a few more minutes to compose herself before asking Hayate out. She looked around at all the pictures that she could see from her position, smiling at all the pictures of Hayate with her guardians and grandfather. She frowned, however, when she saw a picture of a young Hayate, she assumed the girl was around 8 or 9 when the photo was taken. The girl was in a wheelchair, but, her smile is still as bright as the others.

"Didn't I tell you that she was sick as a child," Signum made her presence known as she placed a glass in front of Fate then sat down beside the girl.

Fate was startled out of her musings and blushed at what she was just caught doing. "I… didn't think it was that bad…" She returned her gaze to the photograph.

"Why are you here, Testarossa?"

"I just…" The blonde blushed as she remembered the reason she was at the Yagami's in the first place, "My mom…" She took the glass of water, spilling some of the contents and drank half of it in one gulp, "My mother asked me to take Hayate out?" She squeaked out the sentence and was met with silence from the other girl. "Say something?" She added softly after about a minute of silence.

"Master Hayate likes movies," was Signum's simple response, just as the door opened to reveal Hayate, along with Shamal, Vita and a blue dog?

Kinda looks like a wolf. Fate thought.

"I thought that was your car," Hayate said in lieu of a greeting when she spotted the blonde with Signum in the living room.

"You two seem to be spending an awful lot of time together, should I be jealous?" Shamal said jokingly, carrying a bunch of groceries. Fate blushed at the older blonde's words while Signum simply stood up to lighten her wife's load.

Hayate sat down beside Fate with the dog following her and nuzzling her legs.

"That dog looks awesome, what breed is it?" Fate asked as she watched Hayate pet the dog lovingly.

"I don't really know," Hayate answered with a laugh, "His name's Zafira, he's been with us for a while now," she added fondly.

"I've always wanted a pet, I just have no idea what I should get," Fate confessed, her gaze locked onto the enchanting animal.

"Well, you should, they certainly help remove some of the loneliness sometimes," Hayate said sadly, then she ushered Zafira up and the dog walked away to the other room, "Not to be rude Fate-chan, but why are you here?"

Fate smiled lopsidedly at Hayate, her nerves once again getting the best of her, "Would you like to watch a movie with me?"

* * *

Alicia and Nanoha bought tickets to the movie Fate and Hayate were watching once they were sure that the two of them were inside the theater. Right after Fate asked Hayate, the brunette went up to her room to change and sent a text to Alicia, asking why Fate was taking her out on a date. So, the older Testarossa decided to take Nanoha and spy on the two of them. And quite frankly, Alicia was sure they look suspicious with the bright wigs and large jackets that Nanoha insisted they wear. Once they were inside the theater, they tried to locate the two and luckily, there was a seat right behind them.

"I didn't think you were into these kind of movies," Fate said as she Googled the film they were about to watch.

"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me," Hayate answered playfully.

Nanoha glared at the back of their heads as she listened to their conversation as they were sneaking behind the two. Then an idea struck her. She 'accidentally' tripped and spilled her popcorn on the two girls. Alicia gasped and took a few steps, two steps away from their original intended seat.

"Hey!" Hayate exclaimed and stood up to face the perpetrator.

"Oops" Nanoha answered, her voice not sounding apologetic at all. When they locked eyes, Hayate froze then turned her gaze to the right, recognizing the girls right away. It took all her power not to break down and laugh.

"Hayate, it's just popcorn, it's okay," Fate said, not even bothering to turn fully to see the girl who spilled their food on them, as she pulled Hayate into the seat on her other side.

Hayate winked at Nanoha and let Fate lead her to the clean chair. And Nanoha almost threw her bucket at the other brunette until Alicia pulled her back.

* * *

Once the movie was over, Alicia and Nanoha sneakily followed Fate and Hayate once again and right as they got out of the doors, they were greeted with the sight of Hayate kissing Fate's cheek. Alicia quickly took hold of Nanoha's hand before the brunette could do anything that she would regret. And Nanoha tightened her hold on the hand holding hers, not enough to cause pain but enough to be uncomfortable.

"Can you take me home now, Alicia-chan?" Nanoha asked softly just as Hayate pulled away from Fate.

"Yeah, of course," Alicia answered and lead Nanoha to the parking lot before Fate could notice them since she was quite sure that Hayate planned that.

* * *

Once Fate parked in front of the Yagami house for the second time that day, she turned to face Hayate and sighed, "That was fun,"

"Yeah," Hayate answered and turned to face Fate, knowing what would come out next.

"Hayate, I need to tell you something," Fate sighed out, "You're a great friend and all that-"

"But you like someone else," Hayate interrupted, smiling at Fate, "I know, Fate-chan." And Hayate didn't feel as rejected as she thought she would be.

Fate's eyes widened as she fumbled for an excuse, failing miserably.

"It's Nanoha-chan, right?"

* * *

"Let's just exterminate her already," A girl, not more than 18years old, says boredly, lying down on a couch.

"Patience, my dear," A man replied, grinning impishly while polishing a dart.

"I would have to agree with her, though, sir. This mission is taking too long." Another voice chimed in the conversation, flipping through her phone mindlessly.

"Good things come to those who wait," And he shot the dart in the wall in front of him, hitting a photograph dead center. A name on the bottom of the picture identifies the girl on the photo. _Fate Testarossa._

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites! I'm sorry, I know I said 2 months but life caught up to me. Ehehe. Right after thesis, I had to finish my college requirements, and guess what? I just graduated last month! Yay! But, I didn't think it would be so hard to try and get a job. :( Would anyone offer? I'm trying to get into the game industry. Ehehe. Just kidding. ;) Anyway, I hope you guys would still read this even after all this time. And please tell me what you think! Was this chapter good? Bad? Something? Oh, and would anyone be willing to help me on this? I have the story outlined for a few chapters now but, I feel like it's still missing something. If someone would like to help, just shoot me a PM. Thanks! :D**


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